Time and Motion proved to be a fitting winner April 24 in the $100,000 Memories of Silver Stakes at Aqueduct Racetrack.
Racing for the same owners (Phillips Racing Partnership) and trainer (Jimmy Toner) of the race's namesake—Memories of Silver won the 1996 Queen Elizabeth II Challenge Cup Stakes (gr. IT) and 1997 Beverly D. (gr. IT), along with four other graded scores—the Tapit filly broke through for her first stakes win Saturday with an outside move in the 1 1/16-mile grass race for 3-year-old fillies.
"It brings back a lot of memories of Memories of Silver," Toner said. "I love this filly. She's a high-quality filly. For her to win a race named after a horse I trained is doubly good."
Racing in third through most of the trek, Time and Motion and jockey John Velazquez ran about 2 1/2 lengths off early leader Lira, who ticked off fractions of :24.76, :50.02, and 1:15.08 through six furlongs.
But Time and Motion, off as the even-money favorite after the scratch-shortened field went down to six horses, took command at the top of the stretch and pulled away gradually to win by 1 1/4 lengths, ahead of Last Waltz. Another half-length back, Pricedtoperfection and Taralena finished in a dead heat for third. The winner ran a mile in 1:39.08 and hit the wire in 1:45.05 on firm turf.
"Perfect trip," Velazquez said. "We broke well enough and I used her a little bit to get my position going into the first turn. She held position and then she relaxed really well behind the two horses in front of her."
The winner paid $4.20, $3.10, and $2.30 across the board. Last Waltz delivered $7.40 and $3.10, while Pricedtoperfection and Taralena brought $2.10 and $2.30 to show, respectively.
The Phillips homebred, out of the Kris S. mare Ellie's Moment, is now undefeated in two starts since she finished fifth, as a maiden, 1 3/4 lengths behind Catch a Glimpse in the Breeders' Cup Juvenile Fillies Turf (gr. IT). In her 2016 debut March 20, Time and Motion earned her first win in a 1 1/16-mile maiden special weight event at Gulfstream Park, with Velazquez in the irons for the first time.
She now has two wins from five starts and $138,150 in earnings.
"She's changed a lot from 2 to 3," said Toner, who indicated the Wonder Again Stakes June 5 at Belmont Park could serve as a prep for the Belmont Oaks (gr. IT) July 9. "Let's face it, I got a little ambitious with her last year. She handled it well, and fortunately she came back good as a 3-year-old. This year we started off back down to reality, I think we're on the right track."
